Practical information
The European Union (EU) has witnessed an influx of immigrants for more than two years. It has had an important impact on a great number of member states, and on the EU itself, who turned out to be, to a large extent, incapable of adopting a shared approach.
From a longer-term perspective, the arrival of these immigrants raises numerous issues and poses great challenges to a Europe that is secularized, obsessed with security risks and tempted by cultural isolationism. France, an “old” immigration country, and Austria, a central transit country during the past few years, have interpreted these events in different lights, and have managed the consequences based on their different historic, cultural and legal legacies.
The conference, organized by the Franco-Austrian Centre for European Rapprochement (CFA), the IFRI and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (Vienna), aims to exchange views on these different experiences and approaches.
Speakers:
Sieglinde ROSENBERGER, professor at the University of Vienna, Vice-President of the Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society
Didier LESCHI, Director-General of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII), Paris
Bernard PERCHINIG, Chief Researcher, International Centre for Migration Policy Development (Vienna)
Moussa AL-HASSAN DIAW, Co-founder of the Network for Social Cohesion, Prevention, Deradicalization and Democracy, expert on Islamism (Vienna)
Christophe BERTOSSI, Director of the Centre for Migration and Citizenship, IFRI, Paris
Conference in French and German with simultaneous interpretation.
A detailed program is available in French below.
Other events
The EU–India Defense Partnership in an Evolving Security Environment
On 27 January 2026, the European Union and India signed a Security and Defence Partnership on the sidelines of the EU-India Summit. This agreement marks an important step in the evolution of the strategic partnership between the two sides, placing security and defence at the heart of a relationship that has until now been driven primarily by trade and economic cooperation.
One Month Ahead of the Midterms: Where Is Trump’s America Headed?
The November elections will be a test of President Trump’s grip on the U.S. political landscape and, by extension, on global geopolitics. As the political battle intensifies ahead of the vote, the U.S. economy remains resilient despite inflation and the twists and turns of trade policy, while the international order continues to be deeply unsettled by the war with Iran. The 24th edition of Ifri’s Annual Conference on the United States will examine the dynamics at play in the United States and their implications for Europe and the transatlantic relationship.